Texas church offers tacos and ashes-to-go for Ash Wednesday

At St. Thomas Episcopal Church in College Station, Christians observe the start of Lent in a much more delicious way than most parishes: tacos.

The church’s rector, Rev. Rhoda Montgomery sets up shop in front of a local taco place, offering Ash Wednesday “ashes to go” for college students and commuters.

“I’ll be atFuego (near University and Texas in College Station) on Ash Wednesday doing an ‘ashes to go’ event from 10am to noon,” Montgomery announced on the church’s Facebook page. “Ashes, prayer, tacos…a winning combination (I know I know it’s a fast day, but dang those tacos are good!)”

St. Thomas in College Station is part of the Houston-headquartered Episcopal Diocese of Texas, and Montgomery previously served at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston.

Episcopalians across the country are making Ash Wednesday observances more convenient and quicker, reported the Religion News Service and USA Today, both mentioning St. Thomas’ tacos.

“We live in a time where we can’t just sit back and wait for people to come to us,” Bishop Stacy F. Sauls with the Episcopal Church, told RNS. “We have to meet people where they actually are.